Two arrested in connection with July 2 hit and run

LONGMONT -- Two 18-year-old men video-recorded themselves before and after a confrontation on July 2 that left another teen lying in the street alone and unresponsive in a pool of blood, according to court documents.

Police arrested Joshua Stegmeier, 18, of Longmont and his friend Gabriel Baxter, 18, of West Chester, Penn., on Thursday. Stegmeier was arrested on suspicion of felony first-degree criminal trespassing, accessory to vehicular assault, accessory to leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury and misdemeanor harassment.

Baxter was arrested in Pennsylvania on suspicion of vehicular assault and leaving the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury, both felonies.

Stegmeier is due in court on Aug. 8 for an advisement hearing. Baxter does not have a court date set.

According to court documents, the teens went to 18-year-old Luke Collier's home on July 2, knowing he was angry at them, to coax him into chasing them and to record the incident. Video clips recovered from Stegmeier's camera chronicled the plan and aftermath, according to reports.

Police said a passerby found Collier lying on Spruce Avenue near Judson Street, suffering from a serious head injury. Investigators did not initially know if he had been struck by a car, or if he fell out of or off of a vehicle, according to court reports.

Collier does not recall anything, Longmont Police Sgt. Mike Bell said. According to the warrant, Stegmeier and Collier had been friends for about three years, but Collier did not know Baxter.

Witnesses told police they saw a red Toyota Prius in the area before Collier was discovered.

Investigators located a Prius matching the description parked at a home on the 1600 block of Goshawk Drive. There, officers found Stegmeier at home with his parents and Baxter, who was reportedly visiting from out of state.

The teens said they wanted to speak with an attorney before talking with investigators, but they acknowledged being involved in the accident and that the Prius was the correct car.

Investigators reviewed the video, which chronicled parts of Stegmeier's text message argument with Collier and plans for Stegmeier and Baxter to confront Collier. In one clip, according to the warrant, the camera shows Stegmeier's phone with a text message he says is from Collier. It reads, "You think that is funny? Calling me up and making fun of me with all your stupid giggly friends? Or are you bored and alone? Get a f---ing life."

In another clip, Stegmeier and Baxter record themselves walking in front of Collier's home and into his backyard, where they settle down to discuss an "ambush."

Eventually, the video clips show the two returning to the front of the home to see Collier arrive and get out of his car, then fleeing toward the back of the home as apparently planned, court records show.

In subsequent clips, the pair discuss how Collier chased them and Baxter tried to flee in the Prius, but Collier jumped on it. Baxter said in the video that he drove away with Collier on the car and reached a speed of up to 40 mph before Collier fell off. He said in the video that he believed Collier would stab him with a key or key the car, according to the warrant.

"I am pretty sure he is hurt, but I don't give a f---," the warrant quotes Baxter as saying in the video.

"Who does that? Who jumps on a car?" Stegmeier replied, offering later that Baxter must have been frightened when Collier jumped on the car.

They talked about editing the video to exclude their visit to his home and wondered if Collier had broken an arm and would call police, according to the warrant affidavit.

A Boulder judge signed warrants for their arrest on Thursday and police in Longmont and Pennsylvania arrested the teens.

Stegmeier and Collier remained friends on Facebook as of Monday and Stegmeier interacted with Collier a few days after he was injured.

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